The Forum on Energy weekly news roundup brings together a mix of global energy stories from around the web. It is published every Thursday and is available on Twitter via@forumonenergy

PM Abe First Foreign Leader to Meet With Trump

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will become the first foreign leader to meet with President-Elect Trump since the election on November 8th. PM Abe aims to secure the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance with this goodwill trip, and has been advised not to enter into the meetings taking President-Elect Trump’s campaign rhetoric about Japan acquiring nuclear weapons and calling the bilateral relationship into question too literally.

Japan’s nuclear regulator on Wednesday approved an application by Kansai Electric Power Co Inc. to extend the life of an ageing reactor beyond 40 years, the second such approval it has granted under new safety requirements imposed since the Fukushima disaster. The move means Kansai Electric can keep No. 3 reactor at its Mihama plant operating until it is 60 years old in 2036.

New York utility regulators endorsed the sale of FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant to Exelon Corp. for $110 million. The state’s Public Service Commission voted unanimously in favor of the sale, with the chairwoman citing increased fossil fuel emissions as a key reason to support nuclear energy. Federal regulators must still approve the transfer as well. In the meantime, the current owner, Entergy, has asked for an extension to complete mandatory safety upgrades, given the last-minute nature of the sale deal.

Executives from EDF Energy met with the parliamentarians to dispel “myths” surrounding the economics of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Executives stressed that the agreed upon strike price has not escalated, financing for the project is already in place, and that the cost of alternatives would not be lower for consumers.

Cold hydrostatic testing, which verifies that the welds, joints, pipes, and components of the reactor coolant system and high-pressure systems meet regulatory standards, has been completed at unit 1 of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in South Korea. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) expects the reactor to start up in early 2018.